Chapter 47: Declarations Work Better with Special Effects~ (1/2)

With the help of the registrar, the recruitment went smoothly.

After that, Marni and company did not linger further, immediately leaving the refugee camp in the snow.

It had to be said that the registrar had a high degree of reputation among the refugees, to the point where almost no one opposed the seemingly suicidal act of traveling in the snow.

The city guards of Wickidor saw this, but did not move to stop them. To the lord of the city, the fact that they lost a hundred refugees at once was probably a big relief…

Almost half a day later, their group of refugees only managed to advance around three kilometers.

The piled-up snow was different than the texture of sand. On stepping into the snow, it would immediately cover up to half the calf, and the snow would melt a little due to their body heat and become sticky, causing the refugees to only be able to move forward at a snail’s pace.

A majority of the refugees had already started panting tiredly, and after expending heat in physical effort, the vast amounts of energy expended made them feel even colder. It was like even their thoughts were frozen.

Even though they had Marni’s oat cookies to sate their hunger, most of the refugees were cold and tired, and wanted nothing more than to lie down then and there to sleep—Granted if they really did something like that they would probably never be able to wake up.

Marni and Leah had the blessings of the System so they were fine, but since they were born in this world, they completely did not think of making tools like sleighs to make the journey easier. Looking at the terrible state of the refugees that looked like they would rather be slain on the spot rather than continue walking, they did not know any way to help out.

In fact, this was the result even after the registrar who had chosen the cleric class continued to cast healing spells on them.

Granted the elderly man had learned swordsmanship back when he was younger, but since he was old and frail now his physical stats wouldn’t be able to be comparable with those of younger people, so of course he couldn’t choose the physically heavy warrior and ranger classes. The mage class seemed like it was a good choice, but after a lot of thought, the registrar still chose to become a cleric which seemed to be the most devoted class, in order to make up for tossing his faith aside. It was a good thing he had chosen to do so too, as there might have been some refugees that would have met with an untimely fate.

If it goes on like this, the journey that would normally take barely more than a day couldn’t have been completed in three days.

“Mister, are the oat cookies enough?” Leah asked worriedly.

“If we stretched it out, it could probably last two days…”

Marni was also stumped. There were quite a number of refugees that brought along their families, and they had to rush in the cold weather so their energy was used up extremely quickly. If the food was not enough, the refugees would soon not be able to move.

“In that case, we can only carry out our plans in advance. Let’s preach to the refugees now.” The young princess said solemnly, “Only through becoming believers would the path forward be bright!”

“Would that be alright, Your Highness? We are too near Wickidor, maybe the other churches would notice…?” the registrar asked in concern.

“If we keep on being afraid of possibilities, then we won’t be able to do anything!” Leah looked to Marni. “Do you do it or should I?”

“You already said that I don’t look like a preacher, I think you should do it, Princess…” Marni said, shaking his head.

The young princess didn’t bother to refute, jumping up and landing daintily onto the top of the carriage before taking a deep breath.

“Everyone, listen to me!”

The young princess stood in the harsh winter, her expression resolute and unflinching as the howling wind lashing at her golden hair and thin clothing—her clear and resonant voice attracting the gazes of the exhausted refugees.

“You might not recognize me, so let me introduce myself! I am Leah Yakaran, the First Princess of Tierra!”

The young princess’ words were too surprising, causing the refugees to start mumbling among themselves.